V

V is the third playable character introduced in Devil May Cry 5. A human with demonic ties, V presents himself as Dante's new client to put him on the trail of Urizen. It's revealed later that V is, in fact, the human half of Vergil's soul; the embodiment of his remorse and wisdom.

Development
According to Hideaki Itsuno, new characters like V and Nico were the first designs they came up with in the early phase of the game's development. Feeling that DMC5 needed a new protagonist that was completely different from Dante and Nero, Itsuno wanted V to have a very different gameplay style that made players attack and defend separately, and experience a whole new gaming style. V's playstyle and how he fights was thought out before any other detail of the character. Itsuno acknowledged that V seems to be a "complex" character to players, but his style makes him a powerful character overall.

Itsuno stated in an interview that V caused the most trouble when creating Devil May Cry 5. There were times where the developers kept wondering if adding V was really necessary due to how difficult it was to develop him.

When creating V's character and story, it was a conscious decision to make V didn't necessarily have a specific relation to Dante and Nero. V's character was based on the game's setting, and the staff was satisfied in how V's inclusion achieved a balance with Dante and Nero.

Appearance
V is a tall, slender young man with pale skin and dark green eyes. He has chin-length, natural white hair with long bangs swept to left, which sometimes obscures his eye, but his pact with his demons turns his hair jet-black and covers his entire upper body and his neck in black tattoos.

V wears a long, open sleeveless leather coat with the sides tied together by strings and a sewn-in, corset-like vest in the front. He also wears black pants with a silver chain made up of skulls on the right side of his belt and a fingerless glove on his right hand. V sports many accessories, including a tooth pendant around his neck, silver ring on his left middle finger, and a plain leather bracelet and a spiked bracelet on his left wrist. Unlike most characters in the series, V wears black sandals instead of boots. V carries a silver cane, due to his body slowly decaying and making it hard for him to move, and a brown, gold-embroidered book, containing poems by William Blake, with a large "V" insignia in the cover.

When he was separated with Vergil by stabbing himself with Yamato, he was naked and covered in a purple haze as his entire upper body and his neck in black tattoos were quickly formed.

In the second half of the game, V's debilitating condition caused his skin to become flaky and cracks to gradually form on his skin, showing that he was literally falling apart.

Personality
V is very fond of poetry, often recites lines when speaking to people or even enemies, to the point where Griffon calls him "Shakespeare". V greatly treasured his book of poems, as his original self, Vergil, possessed it since he was a young boy. Being the humanity that Vergil repressed and disdained, V is more in touch with his emotions and is introspective. Although the most serious of the three protagonists, V has a dry sense of humor and not above jokes or finding antics around him amusing. While first introducing himself to Dante quoting Infant Joy, V was being cheekily literal with Dante, as Vergil used Yamato to split himself on May 1 and V met Dante on May 3, he has been alive for about two days.

V is a man shrouded in mystery and does not speak more than necessary, which caused Nero and the others to question if they can trust him. Due to his odd appearance, behavior, and abilities, many people often found V to be unsettling and questioned if V is really a normal human despite his frail look. While V is willing do morally questionable things and even outright lie and manipulate his allies, V possessed a genuine desire to save the world from Urizen and help humans, even at the cost of his own debilitating health.

Due to possessing Vergil's memories and being fully aware of his origins, V often reflected over his "past self", such as remembering how prideful Vergil was in the past and was the type to be irritated at being called a "dead weight". Despite acknowledging himself to be a part of Vergil, V also seemed to disassociate himself from Vergil and deeming him to be full of "delusions" and expressed a deal of regret towards Vergil's actions.

While V is his own distinct being, being the physical manifestation Vergil's humanity, V possessed all of Vergil's knowledge of the Demon World and some of Vergil's memories occasionally affected how V acts from time to time. Upon seeing Proto Angelo and Scudo Angelo, V's collected demeanor cracked and became enrage at the sight of them due to Vergil's horrible time as Nelo Angelo. While V was mostly affable towards Dante, V expressed resentment and hatred towards Dante when he unconscious. Before reemerging with Urizen, V also revealed that Vergil's intense desire of power strongly lingers in him.

Story
After being freed from Mundus's control, Vergil was able to escape the Demon World, but, his body was weakened and crumbling from battle after battle. After stealing Nero's Devil Bringer to regain Yamato, Vergil then returned to his family's burned mansion in Red Grave City. Fueled by his desire to defeat his twin brother Dante and desire for power without having to be hindered by human thought or emotion, Vergil stabbed himself with Yamato to separate his human half from his demon half, sparking the birth of "V" and "Urizen". Just seconds after his birth, V was able to retain consciousness and witnessed the horrifying formation of Urizen. In addition to being humanly weak, V was also left with three physical manifestations of Vergil's trauma from his time as Nelo Angelo, taking the forms based of Mundus's minions - Griffon, Shadow, and Nightmare.

V's separation from his original self doomed him with a slowly decaying body, kept together with the lingering remnants of demonic power. Knowing Urizen's plans to gain power from the Qliphoth tree, V vowed to stop to the large-scale destruction and hopefully remerge with Urizen before his body completely crumbles.

Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare
Knowing Urizen's resurrection is nearing, V goes to Grue's Celler to find J.D. Morrison in order to get into contact with Dante. Before entering the bar, V assaulted a random man with Griffon in order to obtain money to pay for Dante's services. Upon meeting Morrison, V ask to take him to Dante and hands him the bloodstained money. Although wary of V and Griffon, Morrison accepts the payment, especially wanting to avoid V and Griffon hurting more people to collect more cash and takes them to Devil May Cry.

At the shop, V introduces himself to Dante and explains that he wants him to stop a powerful demon that is about to resurrect in Red Grave City. While Dante is confident that V's job would be easy, V claims that Dante the demon is different from the others he fought before because the demon is Dante's "reason for fighting" - his brother Vergil.

Morrison provided a helicopter to take V and Dante to Red Grave City. V was also grateful for Morrison recruiting Trish and Lady. Upon arriving inside Qliphoth tree, V hopes to attack Urizen before he is fully resurrected, but realized that Urizen had awakened as they were traveling up the tree. Believing V to "dead weight", Dante ordered V to leave, which he complied with, much to Griffon's shock. Unsure of the chances of his allies in defeating Urizen, V wants to get Nero as "insurance", despite knowing Nero's Devil Bringer arm was recently ripped off and Griffon's own protests. Using the helicopter, V quickly arrived at Fortuna and found Nero at the hospital just as he awoke from his coma. After introducing himself, V explained to Nero that it was Urizen that stole his arm and he hired Dante to subdue him. V asked Nero to join them and goads him by pointing out Nero's wounded pride. Although Nero was suspicious of V, Nero agreed to help him to get his arm back.

After getting Nero's gear, V and Nero return to the Qliphoth tree and spotted Dante fighting Urizen from a distance. V warned Nero not to underestimate Urizen since he gained a lot of power after taking Nero's Devil Bringer. V went ahead of Nero, using Shadow's ability to carry himself since moving was becoming more difficult for V due to his decaying body. V and his familiars dealt with demons coming from the tree to make things easier for Nero. Once Nero caught up with them, V told him to go ahead and leave the other demons to him. When V and Griffon arrived at Urizen's throne room, V saw Nero and Dante struggling to beat Urizen as the ground began shaking. Dante yelled for them to run while he holds Urizen off, though V had to drag a stubborn Nero, who insisted on staying and help. When debris blocked the path to Urizen, the two met up with Morrison and told him what happened as tentacles started sprouted from the group and attacking people. While Nero wanted to fight, V demanded he retreats and revealed that the world will end after a month. V encouraged Morrison not to lose hope and Nero to get stronger since he is the only person that can defeat Urizen besides Dante. V and Nero agreed to meet up again in a month, with Nero returning to Fortuna to train. V choose to stay in Red Grave City, lying to Nero that he will be collecting information in the meantime.

As the days passed, V observed the Qliphoth tree growing bigger as it sucks more human blood. Griffon suggested V should evacuate the city to slow Qliphoth's growth, but V rejected the idea because he didn't believe anyone would listen to him and he did not have the authority or time to organize a city-wide evacuation. While V tried his best within his capabilities, he felt great regret not being able to do more. When Griffon questioned if Nero will return, V commented that Nero isn't the type to accept a "losing streak", causing an amused Griffon to quip about it. V contemplated over his beloved book of poems, which also predicted Qliphoth's appearance. V bitterly recalled his former self's delusions and how he lied to Nero since he already knew everything about Urizen. Although he wanted to avoid too much movement since his body was eroding, V resolved to help the humans and to minimize the damage as much as possible until Nero returns.

Devil May Cry 5
Once a month had passed, V called Nero to set a meeting place so they plan their next move. V arrived to their rendezvous point just as Nero was finishing battling the Goliath. V uses Shadow on the weakened Goliath and dealt the final blow before Nero could kill him. After bantering a little bit, Nero asked if he knows if Dante was still at the Qliphoth tree. V calmly stated that if Dante was still up there then he would likely be Qliphoth pollen by now and explained what the Qliphoth does to Nero. While Nero wants to go straight to the tree to save Dante, V stopped him and informed that they must take care of the Qliphoth roots first. When Nico arrived in the Devil May Cry RV, V meets her for the first time and went inside to plan their next move. V and Nero agreed to split up to cover more ground and meet up with each other at the base of the Qliphoth tree. Then V silently watched in amusement as Nico bickered with Nero and Griffon before taking his leave.

On the streets, Griffon questioned V if he believed Nero could defeat Urizen, but V stated that they can only hope Nero could. A swarm of Empusa soon appeared before V and his familiars, with Shadow ready to fight and Griffon wanting V to run away due his frail condition. However, V chooses to fight and destroy as many Qliphoth roots as he could. Eventually, V encountered Nidhogg and quickly dealt with him. Soon after, V noticed the gigantic and decided to leave it alone, knowing its beyond his current capabilities. However, Gilgamesh spotted V and attacked him, plunging him into the city's underground tunnels. As V destroyed more Qliphoth roots on his way out, V attacked Gilgamesh's legs that protruded from the ceiling above. V briefly bumped into Nero, who was fighting Gilgamesh topside, and told that he'll leave Nero to deal with Gilgamesh. Upon returning to the surface, V spied on Cavaliere Angelo being ordered by Malphas, who is the second-in-command of Urizen, to find Sparda's sword and destroy it. After Malphas left, V confronted Cavaliere Angelo, expressing recognition of it and mockingly promised to be "gentle" with it. While V was able to kill the Elder Geryon Knight that Cavaliere Angelo rode on, Cavaliere Angelo escaped from V due tiring himself out. V wished to find the Sparda Devil Arm to rise their chances of beating Urizen. When Griffon pointed out that V was not strong enough to wield the sword, V stated that Nero might be able to do it. Noticing a fragment of Elder Geryon Knight on the ground, V picked it up and returned to the RV. V entered the RV just as Lady, who was rescued earlier by Nero, were telling the others what happened after V and Nero left the tree a month ago. V politely greeted Lady and handed Nico the demon fragment to make a new Devil Breaker for Nero. Since the road to the Qliphoth tree was blocked by debris, V and Nero decided to travel the rest of the way on foot.

While they went on different underground paths, V and Nero met again on the surface and confronted by a Proto Angelo and small army of Scudo Angelos. Recalling Vergil's time as Nelo Angelo, V grew angry at the sight of the Angelos and proceed battling them alongside Nero on their moving battlefield. V and Nero finished the fight before their platform went over a cliff, landing in area that V recognized to be where Vergil's old family home was. V nostalgically and cryptically shared his childhood memories to Nero before stating that they must part ways because V wanted to find the Sparda sword. While Nero warned V that the sword would be too much for V to handle, V shrugged in off and said that they need all the help they can get, much to Nero's puzzlement. V sent Griffon to scout the area and hearing his reports of nearby demons "dancing", V figured that the Sparda sword is nearby. After fighting off a Behemoth and other lesser demons, V sensed the sword's presence and was lead to a group of Nobodys worshiping it, which V mocked them for. After dealing with them, V retrieved the sword and tried to life it, only to failed. While Griffon playfully teased him, V believed that Nero was the only that wield it just as Shadow alerted V to a fortunate find - a comatose Dante, who presence has been concealed by the sword. While initially relieve to see Dante, V was overcome with rage and attempted to stab Dante with Sparda, ignoring Griffon's pleas to snap out of his trance. However, V only stabbed Sparda need Dante's head, which was able shocked Dante's instincts enough to wake up him from his coma.

Later, in the aftermath of Dante's victory against Urizen, V finally decided to serve his own purpose to confront Urizen in his weakened state. Knowing he and Urizen are one of the same, he begins reciting William Blake's "Love & Harmony" poem (relating to the relationship between V and Urizen), before stabbing Urizen with his cane as Dante tried to stop him. Thus leading to both V and Urizen being engulfed inside a blue light as they both merged into one person, Vergil himself. V was mentioned by Nero, after Dante's clash with Vergil, which he informs him that V had already merged with Urizen into Vergil himself and during the final battle between both Nero and Vergil as father and son.

Powers
Unlike Dante and Nero, V has very little demonic power and seemingly is a normal human, instead his abilities comes from his pact with his three demons and is capable of casting a huge variety of magic spells. One spell called "Royal Fork" creates many duplicates of his cane to attack many enemies at once. He can also teleport to an enemy to strike them with his cane directly. V also appears to be able to enter a state similar to Devil Trigger, which causes the black ink in his hair to disappear, revealing his natural white hair, and allows him to augment his familiars' strength and Nightmare from long distances.

Familiars
V has the ability to summon demons to fight on his behalf. When not called upon, the demons are embodied as tattoos on V's body and in his hair, turning it from white to black. When they are summoned, the corresponding tattoo to each demon will disappear and his hair turns back to its original color.

V's familiars are actually physical manifestations of Vergil's trauma from his time as Nelo Angelo, taking the form of Mundus's demon minions. Due to this, V described his demons' abilities to be "dream-like" since they are only able inflict pain yet unable to kill.

Griffon: This avian monstrosity can always be found somewhere around V, usually flapping its beak with some inappropriate jab. Griffon brings the thunder with electrified long-range attacks, or can give V a lift if close by. Griffon is the only one that knows human language and acts as the interpreter for Shadow and Nightmare so others can understand them.

Shadow: This demon familiar usually takes the form of a quadruped beast, only to shapeshift into blades, needles, and all manner of nasty weapons to act as vanguard. Through Shadow, V can also move at faster speeds than normal. V can also ride on Shadow as a form of transport.

Nightmare: V can unleash his full power to call upon this gargantuan demon. When summoned, Nightmare may crash onto the battlefield like a meteorite, or burst through parts of the environment to heed the call. Its sluggish movements belie unsurpassable strength and nigh-invulnerability. Wherever Nightmare appears, its massive fists or brutal laser beams are the last thing enemies ever see. In his normal size, Nightmare is 3.5 meters tall, but is capable growing even larger.

Gameplay
In terms of combat, V uses his cane and book with the letter "V" on it as weapons. He's also capable of summoning different types of demons that will aid him in the battle and casting a huge variation of spells. Due to his unique gameplay style, V described to be a "tricky" and strategic character to use in battle. When playing as V, he has shorter health bar than Dante and Nero and less knockback resistance, so maintaining a distance is key while his familiars are fighting and as long V doesn't take damage, the battle can continue. When quickly evading or attempting to ride on Shadow or fly with Griffon, V must have his familiars close to him or call them back to his position.

V's demons have their own health bar and can be strengthened and learn new abilities over the course of the game. However, V's familiars cannot kill other demons and V must land the finishing blow. When enemies are close to death, they will start to stagger and turn white with a violet glow, signalling for V to finished them off with his cane.

The demons are manually directed by V, but Griffon and Shadow can fight automatically, but having them fight automatically will use up V's D.T gauge. With Nightmare, summoning him consumes the D.T. gauge and it also decreases when Nightmare attacks. Due to Nightmare's slow movement, Nightmare essentially cannot transverse the ground very well and isn't ideal to use when surrounded by enemies when the D.T. gauge is low. Nightmare also fights automatically, but can be directly controlled by V when he climbs on his shoulder and pierces him with his cane. As long as Nightmare is controlled by V, V can kill enemies off using Nightmare. In very narrow spaces, Nightmare cannot fully emerge and will only stick out his head to fire his beams. Due to the many different summoning entrances when summoning Nightmare, secret passageways can be found when Nightmare burst through the environment.

If V takes too long to finish off enemies, the demons will regain partial health, forcing V to attack them again. The familiars can take damage and will revert to their core state after taking too much. In their core state, they cannot attack and cannot be summoned again for a certain amount of time. If Griffon and Shadow are in their core state, summoning Nightmare is a quick way to revive them. Another way to quickly revive the familiars from their core states is for V to stand close to them, the closer V is the faster the familiars can revive.

In order to fill V's D.T. gauge, V has to read his book and the closer V is to his opponents while reading, the faster the gauge will fill. However, V's movement will slow and leave him vulnerable to enemies.

Etymology
The letter "V" is the Roman numeral for the number "5", referencing V's appearance and importance in the fifth installment of the Devil May Cry series, Devil May Cry 5. Furthermore, the first words spoke by V in promotional material was "He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.", which is the fifth proverb from William Blake's "Proverbs of Hell." V is also the first letter of Vergil, the name of the man who he was once part of.

Trivia

 * Due to his likeness, many fans made the comparison between V and actor Adam Driver, particularly Driver's role as Kylo Ren from the Star Wars franchise. However, the character of V was being developed before Star Wars: The Force Awakens had been released.
 * Some sentences said by V are quoted directly from William Blake poems, such as "He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence." and "I curse my stars in bitter grief and woe, that made my love so high and me so low.".
 * Additionally, one of Nico's tattoos also quotes a William Blake poem titled "Eternity".
 * At the New York Comic-Con 2018, Itsuno also stated that V was actually his favorite character.
 * V's EX Costume that is unlocked after S-ranking Mission 20 is a reference to Gilver, having a green color scheme and the patterns of Vergil's trench coat. This is due to the fact that V and Gilver are essentially the same being, "Gilver" a disguise that Vergil donned in Devil May Cry Volume 1, whilst V is the true manifestation of Vergil's Human side.